Angel Of The First Degree - Chapter 4: Starcourt

Angel of the First Degree - Chapter 4: Starcourt

Eddie Munson x Chubby & Inexperienced!Reader 4322 words A sneak peek at what to expect from this fic here

Previous Chapters: 1 - Valium; 2 - Carrie; 3: Honey

Warnings: Anxiety; fatphobia including internalised; drug use; bullying; body issues; discussion of body function and fluids; period shame/stigma; disclosure of sexual assault (chapter 2); disordered eating and thoughts of food; shitty/abusive/critical parents; no beta; warnings updated each chapter

Synopsis: When Eddie Munson finds you in the midst of a panic attack, it is the beginning of something. A fic featuring body and sex positivity, Eddie in a dress, soft small moments, scary big truths, and all the usual special feelings you’d expect from one of my stories.

Chapter Summary: Quality time. Acts of service. Words of affirmation. Gift giving. Physical Touch. All the languages of love are here and accounted for.

When you were in Eddie’s room, it was like there was no line between where your body ended and the universe began. You were at peace, not monitoring yourself and your body for a million and one inconsequential things.

How do the rolls of my belly look like this? Was that a dumb thing to say? Is there snot in my nose? How much space am I taking up? Is my armpit hair peaking out? Did that laugh sound weird? Should I have shaved my legs?

You just existed in the moment, and the moment was always, completely… Eddie.

Eddie learning to play Metallica songs while you drew pictures of monsters the lyrics made you think of; he stuck them all on his wall with push pins, a collage of your creations growing. Eddie getting high while you watched, instructing him to put his head in your lap, close his eyes, and let you braid his hair. Eddie practicing for the new Hellfire campaign, bouncing around the room doing voices and movements different from his own. Eddie holding out grabby hands to you, begging for cuddles while you watched horror movies until curfew.

It was easy to lose whole days in that room, and you let it happen regularly and happily. It was significantly better than being at your house, where your parents were growing angrier at your distance from them, which they wrongly assumed also meant your grades were slipping.

“That is… Drumroll, please,” Eddie said in his best game show host voice. You drummed your pencils on the kitchen bench of his trailer. “CORRRRRECT! She’s done it again, ladies and gentlemen. The perfect test score!”

Eddie made every practice test like that. Fun. Engaging. Memorable. It anchored your learning to semantic memory. The more time you spent with Eddie, your already good grades were getting even better.

He read your essays, adding tips from when he’d been in that class. Just because he had failed didn’t mean he was dumb. He knew what the teachers wanted; he just lacked the motivation to give it to them. He got you from an A- to an A+ in English, his creative flair helping to give all your pieces that extra special thing teachers loved.

Your parents didn’t want to hear about it though. They barely tolerated hearing Eddie’s name at all. Any evidence that disproved their preconceived idea of him was banned from conversation. Things were becoming tenser with them, which meant you spent more time at Eddie’s, which continued the cycle of shitty parenting and avoidant behaviour.

None of it mattered when you were alone with Eddie.

When you walked side by side, he would lace his fingers between yours or wrap an arm around your shoulder. At the cafeteria table, Eddie’s leg would hook around your ankle. Sometimes he’d reach out and tap on your fingernails like he was playing the piano. Best though, was always going to be being together in that bedroom.

Sitting on his bed, he’d pull your legs over his and hold them. When you sat at his dresser doing school work, he’d sit at your feet and lean against the chair just to be close. The melodies he played then were always soft and always came from his acoustic guitar.

When you got sleepy, he’d tell you to nap, then hold you close as a big spoon should. He was careful where he placed his hands, knowing it would take one wrong move to make your self-consciousness snap back in an instant. So, he’d often just hold his arms off you a little bit and twinkle his fingers, his mute way of telling you to put him where you wanted him.

Eddie kept an eye on the time, never letting you be late for curfew because he knew the wrath it would result in. Even when you protested, even when he had to wake you up, and even when you tried to hide tears, he would usher you out to his van and take you home, feeling like shit the entire way.

Eddie wanted you to fall asleep in his bed and not have to wake until morning.

He wanted you to look in the mirror and see what he saw.

The thing he couldn’t stop thinking about though, the thing he couldn’t help picturing all fucking day, was kissing you.

When your focus was elsewhere, he’d study your lips. The cupid bow. The way you sucked your bottom lip in when you were anxious or concentrating. The lip balm you used that was meant to be unscented but he swore was vanillary.

He was a man possessed by a singular thought and it was getting ridiculously distracting. He wanted you to be ready but he wouldn’t know when that was unless he asked you. So, that’s what he’d do. Eddie decided on a course of action and plotted it out in his mind, all while watching you politely listen to Dustin and Mike try to convince you that their respective girlfriends were better than the other’s.

“Um… They both sound really cool,” you offered.

“No, but El is like, a superhero,” Mike repeated for the sixth time.

“Nobody knows what that means,” Gareth said from across the table.

“Suzie has long curly hair, huh? Huh?” Dustin said, elbowing you like you’d know what that was code for. You just shrugged at him. “You love people with long curly hair!” Dustin clarified, annoyed that he had to spell it out. He pointed at Eddie, who was lost in his own ‘I’m gonna kiss her so much’ plans.

You looked over your shoulder at Eddie, smiled at the far-off expression on his face, then turned back to the freshmen. “I just… don’t really… want to compare girls like that. Can’t they both just be the best?”

Dustin groaned and Mike pushed his lunch tray away dramatically.

“They’re probably not the best,” Gareth said, making the freshmen freeze and glare. “I mean, what kind of girls would date you losers?”

A trail mix and potato-tot fight ensued.

…

Starcourt Mall 2.0 was not the destination you expected to arrive at. Looking over at Eddie, you cocked your head in confusion.

“Trust me,” he said.

“You literally were going on about how you’re glad it burnt down the other day,” you reminded him. There was a speech about how all the shops in the mall were part of the man’s plan to make everyone look the same. Dress the same. Eat the same. While Eddie didn’t walk on tables to make his point, it was all very dramatic.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but it got me thinking. They rebuilt, so maybe, you know, different stores,”

“Okay, that’s… fair…”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Eddie said. “I promised a special date and now we’re at the mall. But-”

“Trust you?” you finished for him.

Eddie grinned and nodded. He jumped from the van and came to open your door, something he did religiously. Sometimes he’d say an accompanying ‘my lady,’ or just bow at your service.

As you walked through the mall hand-in-hand with Eddie, you took stock of how the mall had changed. Before the fire, you’d go there all the time. When you were with other cheerleaders, the group of you were a force to be reckoned with. People would scatter out of the way, afraid of being targeted by way too cool teenage girls. It was more about being there and being seen, rather than the act of consumerism. Although, new lipstick and dresses were often purchased, and often at the command of Hayley.

You didn’t miss that, but as you walked by the book store, you remembered quiet Sunday afternoons with Chrissy. Picking out romance novels and giggling over pages when they got steamy. Sometimes you missed her, but required to pick between you and the rest of the cheer squad, Chrissy chose the path of least resistance.

 “So, I don’t think you were listening, had your head buried in Pet Sematary-”

“It’s really good!” you chimed in.

Eddie smiled. “I thought you’d like it. But the other day, when Wheeler was talking about his kid sister, you weren’t paying attention?” He waited for you to confirm, which you did. “Good, so, he said his mum made him take her here. I know it’s like, for kids, but it’s kind of fucked up when you think about it. And it’s cute. So I thought it was, I don’t know, representative… Of us,”

“We’re… cute and fucked up?” you asked, trying to figure out what the hell he could be talking about.

“Yeah. Basically. Um, and I checked, you know, that we could do it. That it wasn’t literally only for children,”

“That we could do what?”

Your question was timed perfectly as you walked around a corner and arrived at a brightly lit store with rainbow colours painted on the walls.

“Build a bear!” Eddie announced.

The shop was more of a one-room workshop. To the right was a wall of soft toys, teddies and cats and puppies and some creatures you didn’t recognise. Below them were bins full of, well, the skins of the soft toys. You watched a kid pick one up and take it over to a girl sitting at a big machine full of fluffy teddy stuffing. The stuffing was rolling around in the machine, warm and alive.

“I’m gonna name mine Angel,” Eddie said, pulling you into the store.

“You’re right… This is kind of fucked up,” you mused, holding the skin of a brown highland cow teddy in your hands.

Eddie nodded, making a half giggle half snort sound as he pulled a baby pink and horrifically hollow cat out of a bin.

“Hi! Welcome to Build-a-Bear. My name is Kasey and I’ll be your bear builder today. Have you chosen a pawsome friend to join your family?!”

Kasey was full of pep on the outside but you figured she was probably dying on the inside. Maybe that’s why she was at your sides so quickly – any chance to serve someone other than a screaming six-year-old.

“You don’t have to… like… do the whole thing,” you said to her.

Kasey shrugged. “It’s honestly easier than trying to have a genuine conversation every time. I used to work at McDonalds. This is way better,”

“But no free fries,” Eddie joked.

Kasey looked at him with the dead-eyed vacant expression of a retail worker. “There were no free fries. Anyway, that your pick?” she asked him, pointing to the pink cat. Eddie nodded. “And you’ve got Longhorn?”

“That’s his name?” you asked, looking at the dead cow in your hands.

“They’re all Longhorn, until you know, you name it,” she answered, leading you to the stuffing machine. “We’ll fill them up then you can put whatever you want in there.”

Eddie had his cat filled firmly, so she would sit in a cute pose on one of his guitar amps. Yours was much more soft, floppy and cuddly in your arms.

“These are their hearts,” Kasey said, handing you each a small red pillowed heart. “Next, we do the Build-a-Bear heart ceremony. Shake it up in your palms to bring them to life. Rub their hearts on your forehead so the bears will be smart.”

You weren’t sure if she was serious, but Eddie was already smooshing the heart into his head, so you copied him.

“Rub your cheeks, so the bears will be cheeky. And on your back, so they'll always have your back. Lastly, over your hearts, so they’ll be full of love. Now they’re ready. Put them inside,”

“Wait. Here. Have mine,” Eddie said, pushing his heart into the open stitching of your cow.

“Then here,” you replied, gifting his cat your heart.

Kasey pulled at the threading of the teddies and sewed them close. She directed you to where you could pick an outfit for them.

“Holy shit. These bears have better career options than me,” 

“I don’t see a rockstar outfit though,” you said looking at the uniforms and clothing on offer. You walked away from Eddie to where you spotted a tiny leather jacket.

When you reconvened at the counter, Eddie’s cat was dressed in a denim jacket, much like the one you were wearing. He grinned at your own choice, taking it and making it kiss the cat.

“Oh my god,” you squealed, snatching the toys from Eddie. 

You put the bears on the counter, and let Eddie pay for them.

“You get a birth certificate,” the woman at the counter said. She pulled two pre-printed pieces of paper out and handed you both a pen.

You watched Eddie write ‘Angel’ in his best handwriting in the blank space on his certificate.

Looking down at your own, you thought. Obviously, you had chosen the highland cow for his messy mop of hair and big brown eyes, but you didn’t really want to name him Eddie. With no other nicknames, you had to brainstorm quickly. ‘Hellfire’ seemed fitting, and when you glanced at Eddie, the smile on his face was all the reassurance you needed.

Eddie thanked the bear builders and handed you Hellfire while putting Angel under his arm. “I’m hungry,” he said, taking your free hand and walking from the store.

Eddie had learned not to politely ask ‘are you hungry’ or ‘do you want something to eat’ because you would always say no. If he hid his care for you under a cloak of his own needs, you’d usually follow his lead. His second trick was dubbed sharing is caring.

“Do you wanna share some nachos?”

“Yeah, ‘kay,” you replied, sitting at the food court table Eddie had placed Angel on.

“You look after the children,” he said with a shameless smile.

Alone in the middle of a place that used to mean something so different to you, you felt strange. Kind of spacey. By the time Eddie returned, the biggest plate of nachos you had ever seen put on the table, you were zoned out.

“I got extra guacamole. ‘Cause you love avocado,” he told you. Eddie hated avocado, so he rotated the plate so the green was closer to you. “Hey. You okay?” he asked, his eyes scanning your expression, then the food court.

“Yeah. Just thinking,”

“Good stuff?”

Nodding, you replied, “Yeah.”

You used the plastic fork to eat a solid portion of the food. Eddie used his hands and went through a pile of napkins. You accepted his offer to share his milkshake, and you let him down half your Dr Pepper in return.

“You’re quiet,” he said as you made your way back through Starcourt to the parking lot.

“I know… I'm okay though,”

“What’s happening? Up here?” Eddie motioned to his own head, kind of circling it like he was drawing a halo.

“Uh… I don’t really… know. It’s weird. I’m like… A bit spaced out. But in a good way? I’m not really thinking anything.”

Eddie thought for a second. “I don’t wanna alarm you, but could you possibly be just… you know, happy?”

“Eddie. I’m happy a lot,” you said defensively enough that he knew he was on to something.

“Yeah, I know, but like, maybe you’re just... really here. Right now. In this minute.”

Eddie stopped at your side of the van and held your hand as you stepped up into the passenger seat. You took Angel from him, hugging her and Hellfire to you.

Your nose tingled and tears pricked at the sides of your eyes. Eddie stepped closer, the height difference between you removed by your seated position. You sat back a little and watched him look at you carefully. He was waiting for you to say something, but you couldn’t. Words would get stuck behind the lump in your throat.

A small nod was all you could offer, but for Eddie, it was poetry in motion.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

The food in your stomach flipped and your teeth clenched together with anxiety. You were entirely freaked out, but you had never wanted something so desperately before. Again, all you could do was nod. He asked if you were sure. Somehow, you managed to squeak out, “Yes.”

Eddie carefully closed the gap between you, pushing his forehead against yours. Your eyes closed immediately and you took a sharp breath in. Eddie ran his nose along yours, waited for you to breathe out, then gently pressed his lips to yours. Before you could think to move, his lips were gone, but he hadn’t moved away.

Eddie’s hands came to cup your face. He kissed you again, lingering a little longer to let you catch up. You kissed back. It was awkward and sweet and you didn’t know what to do because the only other time you’d been that close to someone was a drunk Andy, who mostly just mashed his teeth to yours and tried to make you swallow his tongue.

This was nothing like that.

“You good?” Eddie asked, not moving away from you. 

“Yeah,” you replied, staying still in his hands.

Eddie kissed you, letting you grow a tiny bit bolder, parting your lips against his and waiting for him to do the same. Although you were still a burning ball of nerves, there was something almost second nature about kissing Eddie. It wasn’t that you knew exactly what to do, but you knew whatever you did, it would be right. You couldn’t fuck it up.

“Can we go home?” you asked after the fourth and fifth kiss.

“Yeah, Angel. Let’s go home.”

Letting go of you and stepping back made Eddie ache in a way he’d never felt. He knew it was a love-adjacent feeling, so he didn’t fight it.

On the ride home, you held Angel and Hellfire and tried to not giggle madly.  

…

“I’m serious, Ed, this is not bad at all,” Wayne said, looking in disbelief at the bowl of butterscotch pudding in front of him.

“It’s just sugar and flour,” Eddie dismissed.

10:00 pm was fast approaching and Wayne was due to leave for his night shift at work. Eddie, bored and caught up on homework, found an old recipe book shoved in the back of a kitchen cabinet when he was looking for something sweet. He followed the instructions and produced a more than decent pudding while Wayne woke and got ready.

They ate the dessert together, then Wayne bid his nephew goodnight.

It was a Wednesday night, the week after Build-a-Bear Saturday. You’d spent the rest of the day together in Eddie’s room, figuring out how to kiss each other in a way that would make your knees wobbly and Eddie’s entire body go rigid.

Every moment without you since then was torture. Monday’s classes sucked. Tuesday’s classes sucked. That day’s classes, yep, sucked. Making the pudding was really a welcomed distraction.

“Alright,” Eddie said to himself after ten minutes had gone by and he was still sitting at the kitchen bench staring off into space. He got up and moved the dishes into the sink. He looked at them and they looked back.

The phone rang. Eddie was thrilled. He could pretend the call made him forget to do the dishes.

“Greetings and salutations. You have reached the Munson residence. How may I direct your call?” he answered. Eddie knew the sound of your crying too well. The small sniffles on the other end of the line made all the joy evaporate from him. “Angel? Baby, what’s wrong?”

Standing in a phone booth a couple of blocks from your house, you started to really cry. Of course, he’d know it’s you without you even having to speak.

Eddie let you cry for less than a minute before coaching you through some deep breaths. He said your name a couple of times, then asked where you were. He told you to walk another block over, to where there was an all-night liquor place, and wait for him there.

The guy behind the counter at Hot Shot Liquor watched you sit on the curb outside the store and curl up into yourself. He was going to go out and ask if you needed help, but decided it was none of his business.

As soon as you saw Eddie’s van come around the corner, you were up. He tore out of the driver’s seat and held you tightly when you threw yourself into his arms.

“You’re okay. S’alright. I got you,” he whispered, repeating himself with small changes to sentence structure and word order.

When he felt like you could stand on your own two feet, Eddie pulled away from you just enough to see your face. He put his hands in the sleeves of the Anthrax hoodie he was wearing and wiped your face free from tears, snot, and spit.

“Let’s go home, yeah?” 

You nodded, looking at him through clumped-together eyelashes.

Eddie held your sad face in his hands and studied you for a second before leaning in and kissing you gently. Immediately, you kissed him back, deepening the kiss and adding a needy intensity that Eddie embraced in full.

You had thought kissing was a nice thing. It was about romance and fluffy feelings. But standing under a flickering neon 24/7 Liquor sign, cold and scared, you found out that kissing was now a necessity. You needed it. You needed to feel Eddie’s mouth against yours. You needed to feel like he wanted you like you wanted him. It was about romance, sure, but a feral kind of romance.

“Come on,” Eddie whispered when you both came up for air, his hands still holding you. You nodded into him but made no attempt to move.

He held you for a few more moments, then walked you around the van and helped you up. For the entire drive, he let you keep one of his hands between yours, not letting go to turn corners or park.

Eddie was back at your door to lead you inside. The trailer was warm and smelt good, that was all you really registered. Eddie pulled you along into his room, where you sat on the edge of his bed. He knelt in front of you.

“What do-” Eddie stopped mid-sentence to change his approach. “Do you know what you need? Or what you’d like?”

You looked at him, your eyes still filled with tears. Although you tried to think, tried to help him help you, your mind was all static and emotion. The best you could do was shrug, which you felt dumb and useless for but it was truly all you could do.

“That’s okay. Um, how ‘bout…” Eddie was thinking, his eyes darting around his room for inspiration. He remembered then; he had a surprise for you. Something special in his stockpile of gifts. “Do you want to change into something more comfy?”

Eddie stood and made his way over to where clothes were shoved haphazardly into a set of drawers. You watched him, hoping he wasn’t going to try to offer you any of his own wardrobe. Your cup size alone meant none of Eddie’s t-shirts would fit. If you thought of the size of his thighs compared to yours, you’d vomit.

“Because it just so happens that I got something for you,” Eddie said, his back still to you. “Has to be a secret though. The guys are so fuckin’ precious about the goddamn shirts, if they know I’ve given you one, they’ll lose it.”

Eddie turned around and held up a Hellfire shirt, the same as his, but in your size. Actually, maybe two sizes bigger.

“Figured you’d just wear it here, maybe for when we have our Saturday siestas, or whatever. Whatever you want,” he explained as he handed it to you. “I got it made bigger so it would be extra comfy.”

Your brain was short-circuiting.

Your silence was terrifying Eddie. Wayne had warned him that getting clothes for you would be risky. It involved guessing your size, which Eddie knew was a particular insecurity you had. Had he fucked up?

Eddie crossed his arms across his chest as he waited. Still, silence. He moved one of his hands to his face so he could chew on his fingernails.

“If it’s stupid-”

“It’s not stupid!” you almost yelled, cutting off Eddie. As you spoke you stood, too excited to be self-conscious. You moved to be in front of Eddie’s mirror, threw off the jacket and t-shirt you were wearing, quickly replacing it with the Hellfire shirt.

It fit exactly how you’d want it to and it smelled like Eddie. How long had he been keeping it hidden away in those drawers?

You felt different. It’s like the shirt was magic. Somehow, you didn’t fucking hate your reflection, even with the puffy eyes and messy hair. You kicked off your shoes and decided to go all in, unzipping and pulling off your jeans before you could think about it too much.

Eddie watched all of this in awe. He watched you look at yourself and smile. It was a proper smile. You looked at him then and he swore to god he was going to love you forever. He was going to fucking burst if he didn’t tell you.

“I love you,” he said, the words falling quickly from his mouth.

“I love you too,” you replied. It’s the easiest thing you’d ever said.

After warmed up butterscotch pudding and a debrief about how your parents had crossed the line between controlling and cruel, you cuddled up in Eddie’s bed. The radio was on in the background, turned down enough to be ambient more than clearly audible.

“This okay?” he whispered, his fingers ghosting down your back and along your bare thighs. You nod into him, pressed a kiss to his collarbone. It was more than okay.

Next Chapter - 5: Buzzkill

End Note: Build-a-Bear didn’t open until the late 90s, but I am pretending it was founded in like, 1985-ish, because how perfect was it?

As always, reblogs are king on Tumblr, and the only way content gets seen and shared. Comments and feedback make my entire fucking week.

Fic Taglist: @ajeff855 @b-barnes04 @eddie-munson-is-a-sweetheart @nerd-squad-headquarters @word-wytch @harrys-tittie

All Eddie x Reader By Me Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooexxpressoo @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl

“𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬!”

eddie munson x fem!reader (reader is canonically hot and everyone loves her i don’t make the rules 🙇🏾‍♀️)

except yes i do. 😽

future warnings : suggestive language , cursing , blood and gore , heavy flirting , eddie being down bad 🫤, reader being hot , steve being hot , robin being hot , eddie being hot, nancy being hot , look everyone’s just hot okay? and i can’t think of anymore rn 🤨 not much hotness yet 🫤

chapter 1 , chapter 2 , chapter 3 <- here now

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hawkins, indiana | hopper & el’s cabin | june 24 , 1986 | 6:57 a.m.

you walked up the path to hopper and el’s (now restored) cabin. you decided that the earlier you get this over with the better. plus, you wanted to spend the rest of the day packing.

you got to the door, getting ready to knock, when it inched open with el smiling at you.

“hey. he’s getting ready for work.” she smiled, hugging you as you walked into the house.

“oh, yeah! ‘chief hopper’ back in business huh?” you exclaimed, loud enough for him to hear. you heard his grunt and could practically feel his eye-roll from outside of his room.

“so! el, how are you doing? what are you up so early for?” you beamed.

she led you over to the table and sat across from you. before she could answer you though, hopper’s bedroom door slammed open, him grumbling as he saw you.

“you couldn’t have callled?” he said, looking for his badge.

“would you have answered? plus! i know you love seeing me, hop!” you shot back at him, with a bright smile.

rolling his eyes he walked into the bathroom, grumbling something along the lines of “s’too early to be that happy.” leaving you an el to giggle amongst yourselves at his usual grumpy attitude.

“alright. since i know you won’t take no for an answer and you’ve got all these kids’ parents under some kind of spell. here are the ground rules.” he started, looking pointedly at the two of you, as you and el shared an excited glance.

“no powers. i’m serious, we’ve all been through too much this past year, and we don’t need any government pricks on our asses anymore, got it?” he said sternly, receiving a rapid head nod from the two of you.

“two. no boys, alright?! i mean it! i’ve been having a particularly great time with this “no-mike” agenda you’ve been following, and i’d like to keep it that way.” he pointed at el.

“and three- uhh, well i don’t remember three right now but when i do, i’ll call you okay!” he exclaimed frustratingly, trying to find his badge still.

“here.” you said, getting up from the table, and bringing it over to him. “i’ll pin it.” you said simply, figuring he wanted to say something out of el’s earshot.

“will you be her counselor?” he asked you, quietly. seeing that she was preoccupied with something else at the moment.

“i don’t know yet, but like i told joyce. i’ll find a way to change it if i have to.” you replied nonchalantly.

“what exactly does that mean?” he responded, with his eyebrows raised.

“i guess we’ll find out!” you chirped, making him sigh, shaking his head. “she’ll be safe alright? all of them will be, i promise.” you said seriously.

he said, making you look at him. “you’re like a weird…niece or something to me, okay? and harrington sort of grew on me a little. the point is, i need all of you to stay safe."

“that was an odd compliment, but i’ll take it.” you said, smiling.

“yeah, yeah. no more coming to my house at 7 a.m.! seriously, it’s weird that you remembered my schedule.” he said, after bidding his goodbye for the day, to you and el, getting in his truck and heading off.

turning to el, who you see was just about to heat up some eggos, you asked her, “hey, why don’t you, max, and i go do something fun?”

“right now? shouldn’t i be packing?” she asked incredulously reading the time to be 7:06. “and isn’t it too early?”

“yeah, right now! you can pack later, you have two weeks still! and it’s never too early, el. you go get ready i’ll be in the car!” you exclaimed as you both went in opposite directions.

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hawkins, indiana | your car -> your aunt’s bakery | 7:13 a.m.

“so why exactly did you two come running into my room, and kidnap me from my house, like psychopaths this morning?” max asked from the backseat. el only looked back at her shrugging her shoulders.

“she didn’t tell me either.” she responded, as they were now both looking at you, curiously.

“we’re not getting the boys, are we? because they’re great and all but i don’t wanna deal with mike’s attitude this early in the morning.” max asked after you never responded.

“yeah, me neither.” el added looking out the window, making you and max meet each other’s eyes in the rearview mirror, with similar shocked expressions.

“well good thing it’s just gonna be us three, then! we’re here!” that being all you said, before pulling onto main street and stopping in front of a closed bakery.

you got out of the car without a word, leaving the girls rushing behind you, as you ran up to the doors.

“uhh, y/n what are you doing?” el asked, as you suspiciously looked through the windows, before looking around the street for any wandeeing eyes.

“quick get in!” you whisper-yelled even though nobody was around, pushing the girls into the bakery.

“y/n?? what’s going on?!” max exclaimed, as you locked the doors behind you before turning to them triumphantly, with your hands on your hips, as if you just saved them from something.

“we’ve got the whole bakery to ourselves for an hour!” you exclaimed giddily leading them to a booth and going towards the kitchen, asking them what they wanted.

“see, during the summer my aunt doesn’t open the bakery till 9, meaning that nobody’s gonna come in until about 8:15 to 8:30. so as long as we’re out of here before her or harry comes in, we should be fine!” you said, excitedly before sneering at harry’s name, causing max to chuckle at you clear distaste for the boy.

“who’s harry?” el asked max, curiously.

“her snitch cousin that tells her aunt every little thing she does.” max and el laughed at your glare, remembering all the different times he tormented you.

“like this one time, junior year! i guess he caught eddie and i making out at the drive-in or something, and he snitched! he told my aunt, and then she told my parents, and then they grounded me, because i told them them that i went with nancy.” you pouted, remembering the way your parents yelled at you for hours over the three-way call, being that they had been out of town for their jobs, at the time.

as you worked in the kitchen, they’d assumed you worked yourself up at the memory, because they heard a distant grumble of “he’s just mad he doesn’t get any like i do!” and a “shit!” followed behind the clatter of pans falling, leaving them to giggle amongst themselves. you smiled to yourself, happy to see them a little more carefree than they had been in the last few months.

hawkins, indiana | still at your aunts bakery | 7:59 a.m

you three had spent the majority of the hour, talking, making plans for camp, what you’d do when you got back, and gossiping about your boyfriends before you’d heard a car pull up in front of the bakery. you all peeked out the blinds, seeing someone get out of a sleek black car.

“who’s that?” el asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“fucking harry! that kiss-ass! probably coming in early to suck up to his mother. ” you panicked jumping out of the booth, knowing he saw your car.

“shit! what do we do!” max exclaimed, as her and el jumped out of the booth as well.

“uhh, alright, you two go out the back door and wait in the side alley, here take my keys.” you said throwing them to her, as you quickly gathered the dishes you used and went to the kitchen.

“wait, what about you?” they asked confusedly seeing you stay behind the counter, ready for him to come in.

“any chance i get to fuck with harry, i’ll take. wait for him to come inside before you go to the car, i’ll meet you out there in a sec!” you said closing the door behind them.

and like clockwork, you heard the door ring, signalling your cousin’s entrance.

“hey, cuz!” you exclaimed. making him jump at the sudden intrusion.

“what are you doing here?” he asked suspiciously, looking around for someone else.

“i was doing the display case for aunt char, today? what does it look like i’m doing?” you said nonchalantly, seeing el and max quickly get into your car through the window behind him.

“it looks like you’re trespassing. you better not be defiling my mother’s fine establishment with your trashy boyfriend!” he accused. ahh, so that’s who he was looking for.

“first of all, i have a key too, dipshit." you deadpanned. “and my boyfriend’s not trashy, harry. what’s trashy is the college boy tina dumped you for, but hey! i can help you look for someone else!” you said with fake sympathy.

“fuck you.” he chuckled humorlessly, giving up in his search for eddie, now joining you behind the counter. “i’ve got the rest.” he said, taking over.

“love you too, cuz!” you said, patting him on the shoulder, before walking past him and to the front, quickly grabbing your bag, and rushing to your car.

“i love him, but talking to him, sometimes makes me wanna kill him." you sighed, pulling out of your parking space and heading back towards forest hills.

you three spent the car ride cracking jokes about your cousin, before getting to max’s house.

“thanks for this morning, it was fun!” the girls exclaimed, “anytime! and we’ll have much more fun once we get to camp!” you exclaimed back, as they hugged you then got out and running inside.

you were about to head back to yours to finally start packing, being that you only had today, wednesday, and thursday to pack. but instead, you strolled over to eddie’s trailer, knocking on the door incessantly.

hearing eddie stomp through the trailer and towards the door, you backed up a little knowing that he was about to go off on whoever he thought was banging on his door this early, probably mrs. nolan (yes she exists here too 😭)

“grace, you fucking barbarian- oh! hey, babe!” he recovered, seeing you standing there laughing.

“i don’t think mrs. nolan would like you calling her by her first name, ed.” you laughed, walking into the trailer, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“yeah, well she already doesn’t like me so- who really cares, ya know?” he said, cupping your face and bringing it to his in a firm kiss, attempting to guide you towards his room.

“mmm.. nope! no! eddie, i told myself i would pack today and nothing will stop me!” you yelped untangling yourself from him and leaning on the wall. “besides, you need to pack too! so hop to it lover boy, we can make out later.” you said, beginning to walk back towards the door.

“well, actually!” he exclaimed, catching you by the waist and turning you back towards the wall, leaving no room to escape. “ i finished packing last night.” he said nonchalantly.

“…really?” you deadpanned.

“yeah! contrary to our friends beliefs, i am actually excited to go to camp..uh. well i forgot the name but i’m excited to go!” he explained.

“oh, i see! so long story short, you and robin raced to see who could finish packing first.” you said, remembering the conversation you and robin had the night before.

‘your stupid, bambi-eyed boyfriend thinks that he can finish packing before me, and i need to prove him wrong!” she had exclaimed through the receiver.

“yeah, and i won, so she can shove it!” he defended, showing you his packed bags sitting on the side of his bed.

“okay, fine. you can come home with me then.” you said finally finding a way past him, making your way back to your car. from the corner of your eye you saw him fist bump into the air. “but only to watch and help me pack!” you clarified.

“aw, come on!” he exclaimed, sulking as he followed you to your car.

hawkins, indiana | y/l/n residence | 10:53 a.m.

“eddie quit flinging my bras at robin’s head!” you scolded him, from inside your closet. finally finding the pair of shorts you were searching for, you turned back to the duffle bag on your bed, only to find it missing all of your underwear.

“robin why are you putting them on?! get them off your head?! put them back in the duffel bag!” you scolded the both of them.

how you ended up in this mess, was becoming a blur to you. see, after you drove eddie and you back to your house, you found robin sitting on your porch swing.

once spotting each other, eddie and robin’s eyes blazing, surely enough getting ready to fight about who was the quicker packer, thankfully you were able to ask her what she was doing at your house beforehand. she explained that she was bored, and wanted to help you come pack which led to the new argument of “who’s the better assistant?”

the answer being; neither of them. see, it started off well enough. you would pull something out and they’d give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down, and then one of you would fold it and put it in your bag. that was until you walked to your bathroom to gather your toiletries and robin decided to pelt a pair of rolled-up socks at a slowly drifting eddie’s forehead, which led to him slingshotting a bra at her and from there a war started and had been going on for half an hour now.

with you scolding them and them trying to defend themselves by talking over each other, none of you heard the front door open, or nancy and steve announcing their arrival. the two shared a confused look at the sounds of yelling, cursing and things crashing to the floor before making their way up the stairs and to your room. 

the sight that beheld them once they got to the doorway of your bedroom could be described as a lot of things - one of your bras got tangled in robin's hair in an attempt to get it off, so you made eddie assist her. but then he yanked it a little too hard, leaving robin to yank his hair with even more force. so now they're wrestling on the floor while you ignore them and continue to pack your things.

at that moment the only thing that either of them could muster was -

"the fuck are you guys doing?"

"packing" said simultaneously, by the three of you.

"oh right, how could i have missed that?" steve quips sarcastically . "anyways," he looked towards you, "have you seen my bat? i swear the last place i left it was robin's house, but i can't find it!"

"oh! yeah i have it, follow me!" you said flippantly, leading him out of your room.

nancy just chuckled in amusement at steve's excitement for something so odd, and started to fold and put the things robin and eddie messed up back in your bag, while robin and eddie just watched on confusedly.

"yeah, she brought it over here because her mom almost found it a few weeks ago." you finished explaining to steve as you two walked back into your room.

"oh ho ho, is that steve's infamous life-saving bat i've heard so much about?" eddie admonished.

"well, technically i guess it's jonathan's bat that i ended up making my own?" steve replied trying to remember who it's original owner was.

"uhh no? it's my bat." nancy said, looking at steve pointedly, willing him to remember.

"ahhh great memories, huh guys." you sighed out.

"yeahhhh." they sighed out wistfully.

"okay i know you guys have been to hell and back for the past few years," robin started

"on multiple occasions!" eddie included.

"but nancy has her guns, steve has his bat, and what about us three?" she finished.

"hey, leave me out of that, i have my knives!" you said offended.

"since when?" eddie challenged you, making you scoff no start to look under your bed.

"since always, i'm actually shocked you haven't noticed, eddie." nancy furrowed her eyebrows.

"yeah there's literally no way in the world you haven't felt them before with the way you're always groping her." steve added.

"wait you keep them on you?!" robin exclaimed.

"yep, always!.. ha! i found my unused ones!" you exclaimed, before bouncing up, and plopping yourself, along with a large fancy wooden box with a glass case, onto your bed.

you opened it showcasing all of your different knives to them. "these are just my new ones, but here we have my throwing knives, my butterfly knife, my bowie knives-

"hey didn't you have a few trench knives too?" nancy asked pointing to a few empty spots in your case.

"yeahh, remember you showed them to nance and i a few months back!" steve snapped his fingers in rememberance.

"oh shit, yeah! I had pulled them out when all that vecna crap first started! But in all that chaos I guess I never ended up using them.." you trailed off as the three of you began wordlessly looking around your room for them, not even noticing robin and eddie's silent, but haste escape.

"d'you pack...stuff too?" a frightened eddie asked, huddled against robin, once they got to the safety of your kitchen.

"no... did you?" robin asked, equally as frightened.

"hell no! the most damage I did, was pack a shit ton of blank dnd character sheets that i was gonna make my kids fill out against their will!" eddie whisper shouted.

"so we can both agree that, that's not as normal as they're making it seem, right?" she whispered.

the both of them stared at each other in silent understanding, before jumping at the sound of their names.

"hey... where did rob and ed's go?" steve asked.

before either of the three could call out to them however, robin and eddie booked it out of your house, whether to get things to be at your level, or to find the three of you professional, therapeutic help was only something that eddie and robin could answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n : this took me for fucking EVER, i am literally so sorryyyy. i'm not even on hiatus , i've just been so busy with my senior year and i get so tired when i come home, that i'll have so many plots and ideas and all that stuff but not add them. OR i'll add something to one of my stories, save it, and then not look at it for weeks 😭😭 but yeah, i should definitely be updating more from now. i'm working on the next few chapters of "like a virgin" as well !

ALSO next chapter their finally on their way to camp people 😼😼😼 the build up is OVER (kinda 🤫)

taglist : @1rekk @gardenof-venus @queenariesofnarnia @creativedogs @moraonmarz @lieblingsmensch-xoxo @itswhateversworld @blkroyalty1 @ashthespaceastronaut @serpenttiens-libary @offbrandgod @blackreaderatrisk @allthecoolkidsimagines @witchymoonbabe @i-reblog-fics-i-like

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️😽😽😽😻😻😻😻🙇🏾‍♀️🙇🏾‍♀️🙇🏾‍♀️🙇🏾‍♀️🫵🏾🫵🏾🫵🏾🫵🏾

A Helping Hand

Eddie Munson x fem!reader [1.7k] based off of this tiktok I happened to come across.

Eddie had been sitting with his hand on the back of the diner bench for at least twenty minutes now.

It was awful, his hand felt clammy, his palm was stuck to the old vinyl and he couldn’t stop his fingers from tapping out random beats, plucking at invisible strings every time you moved.

That was the problem, you see? You were beside him - a bold choice, Eddie had thought to himself with an aching chest, as he slid into the bench beside you rather than across - and he didn’t know what else he was supposed to do about it.

It had taken the boy almost three weeks to build up the courage to ask you out, and now that he’d gotten you here, he wasn’t really sure you were even aware it was a date. Because you’d both been sitting with Steve and Robin, a casual affair in Steve’s backyard with a fire going and a joint to share.

Steve had nudged him too many times and Robin's eyes were wide and insistent as she looked from him to you and back again - all unbeknownst to yourself, of course.

Then the day turned to evening, the fire dwindled out and suddenly none of you were feeling as floaty as you had. Not as brave either, because when Eddie looked at the way you were stretched out on a blanket on Harrington’s yard, skin kissed with the sun from the day and a sweater that wasn’t your own pulled down over your hands, he didn’t feel as confident anymore.

But Steve had yawned, a terribly fake noise that had Eddie rolling his eyes and the boy stretched, slapping Eddie on the back of the head with a well aimed palm.

“Ask her, you idiot,” he’d hissed under his breath and Jesus Christ almighty, Eddie hated his friends.

So he’d turned to you at the last minute, just before you were about to head in the other direction and walk down the street back to your own house. Eddie called out, voice a little too sharp and too high and god, he was panicking. But he asked you if you wanted to grab some food and he didn’t even mention the word ‘date’, he just blinked and then you were in the front seat of his van, looking far too pretty to be there.

It was all a bit of a blur, really.

‘Cause Eddie had liked you for a while, a long time, actually. Almost a year. He’d met you through Robin, held his breath when he realised you didn’t have a crush on Steve like all the other girls and then one day after work, you showed up at the arcade with the kids and the rest of the gang in a Dio t-shirt, and well, the boy was a goner.

And Eddie knew how to flirt, okay? He did. He was charming and charismatic and he always made his friends laugh. He saw the way the cheerleaders looked at him when their boyfriends were too busy playing basketball, he saw the fluttered lashes and the roaming gazes, the way their cheeks flushed and their lips twisted when he gave them a smile and a wink.

But this was different because it was you and oh my god, Eddie really cared about what you thought of him. He liked the way you tilted your head to the side when you listened to him ramble, he loved the way your nose scrunched when you laughed. And when you were tired, he could always tell, ‘cause you’d play with your earring and seek him out, always eager to push your cheek to his shoulder and slip into the background of whatever chaos the kids had pulled you into.

Eddie adored it. He adored you.

You made his stomach jump with nerves, his heart thump and thud against his ribcage until he felt like his bones rattled everytime you walked into the room.

Which is why he was having a really hard time with the way you were nestled into the nook of his body, toying with the last few fries on your plate as you spoke about work and how you hated your boss. Your shoulder was pressed to his chest and his arm was a ghost around the vinyl bench, just shy of wrapping around you.

That’s all he wanted to do. Sure, he’d thought sinfully indecent things of you, especially when he was alone at night and he couldn’t help but wrap his hand around his hard length to tug at himself while he whispered your name. But then he’d see you the next day in a cute little sundress and goddamn, he’d be a blushing mess. Harrington had every right to laugh at him, he was a wreck of a man because of you.

Putting his arm around your shoulders would be enough.

It was obvious to others, to the outsiders looking in, how they easily saw the way you gazed up at the boy, eyes adoring, smile sticky with fondness. They watched how you leaned into him when he spoke, how you traced the curves of his lips, the lines of his jaw and nose with your gaze as told you a story that had you enraptured.

But maybe Eddie was too oblivious to it, too shy to properly look, maybe too caught up in the way he was staring at you to see how you looked at him.

Maybe that’s why he never noticed Max at the table behind you both, the redhead squeezed into an adjoining booth with Lucas, El and Dustin, all four of them whispering and snickering into milkshakes of every flavour.

You were talking softly about how you needed to close up at work tomorrow, how you hated doing it alone because the nights were getting darker and your car was still in the shop. You were so warm, pressed into his side like you couldn’t get close enough, looking up at him through your lashes until you heard, until you felt the way the boy’s breath got stuck in his chest.

Eddie gripped the bench behind you a little tighter and cleared his throat.

“I could, uh, I could pick you up if you wanted,” he told you, his tongue swiping over his bottom lip a little nervously. “Give you a ride home?”

You smiled, nose scrunched, eyes bright and Eddie melted.

“Yeah?” You asked him, shoulder nudging under his own a little more. You were wedged into his side, dying for him to pull you closer. “You’d do that?”

Eddie would do anything for you, didn’t you know?

“Sure I would, sweetheart,” he quipped, pushing at the straw in his empty glass. His hand was still on the seat behind you and his heart was still hammering. Could you hear it? Could you feel it? “Just let me know what time.”

You smiled, like you had a secret, like there was something Eddie didn’t know and he felt like absolute mush when you looked up at him with it, lashes kissing in the corners of your eyes, lips rosy, pretty as a fucking picture.

“Why don’t you come a little earlier?” You tucked your bottom lip between your teeth, tugged at the hem of your dress and god, Eddie wondered, could you be nervous too? “It’s quiet before close, and there’s this book I’ve been meaning to show you. I think you’d like it.”

“Yeah?” Eddie swore the sun outside shone a little brighter. It was almost eight thirty and the sky was black but Eddie could feel the warmth of summer on his face when you smiled at him like that.

Maybe it was magic. Maybe it was just you.

“Yeah,” you grinned, popping the last fry in your mouth and pushing back into his arm, hinting, hoping, wishing. “S’got something to do with elves, a hidden kingdom and a lot of swords.”

“Sounds like my kind of party,” Eddie agreed and his voice was so much softer than it needed to be but you were pushed up against him and you smelled real good, like peaches and brown sugar.

If Steve was here, he’d be on the floor laughing at him. He was sure he was pink in the cheeks, curls messy with the way he kept running his hands through them.

And then.

And then.

He felt a small hand grab the sleeve of his leather jacket, making him jump and look back. Eddie finally spotted his small friends, the little redhead grinning at him with knowing eyes as she lifted his arm and coaxed it over your shoulder.

Fucking Mayfield.

Eddie panicked, let out a quiet swear but then you were leaning against him, eyes as wide as his own but so happy to push yourself into his embrace a little further.

His arm drooped, relaxing over the curve of your shoulder and god, it felt like he could finally breathe again. He smiled down at you, cheeks rosy, lips twisted prettily to hide his grin and Eddie wanted to turn around a buy the younger girl the biggest slice of cake the diner had.

But he didn’t want to move - couldn’t, not even if he tried. You were a lovely, warm weight against him, hair tickling his chin as you kept up your chatter of books you thought he would like. And Eddie listened to every word, smiling fondly at each suggestion, humming happily when you looked up at him for an answer.

And just when the boy thought he couldn't win any more prizes, you pushed your now empty plate away and took his other hand that was laying on the table in your own. You held it like it was what you normally did, like his touch wasn’t setting your heart on fire and you bit back a grin when you saw Eddie’s eyes widened, when he inhaled a little too sharply.

But you kept talking, sweet and soft, just for him, your fingers mapping out the nooks and crannies of each of his rings, warm palm, guitar string scars on each fingertip. Eddie let you, mesmerised by your touch, by how much smaller your hand was compared to his own.

The arm around your shoulder only pulled you closer.

hear me out... A. blurb smut where sub!Eddie and dom!fem reader takes a bath together.

Omfggg yes!! She fills the tub with some luxury bubble bath and handcuffs him to the towel rack behind him. Eddie is forced to watch as she bathes, the warm sudsy water running over her tits. And she turns around opening up her cheeks to wash her tight puckered hole. The whole time Eddie is frothing at the mouth, pulling against the cuffs. He’s so hard and the water sloshing around as she moves is enough to make his cock twitch. He might come the next time she splashes him.

She straddles him and gently plays with the head of his leaking cock with the wash cloth, the fibers tickling him.

“Please Kitten,” he cries. “Can I come?”

She chuckles, “Wasn’t this your idea Eddie?”

“Yeah, sweet girl, but—”

She grips the base of his cock. She can feel the thick thatch of his pubes. She can’t wait to feel the hair tickle her nose later…

“But nothing, Big Boy.”

She leans forward, their foreheads touching. The steam from the water wafting around them. She reckons they have about another hour before someone comes home. She jacks him off slowly. His sack has never felt heavier.

“You’ll enjoy what I give you. Maybe later you can have some of your Kitten’s milk.”

“Fuck,” he growls. “I’m going to get you back, baby. Your cunt is mine.”

She stops moving and Eddie mewls. The cuffs clink against the bath tiles. “Right now your cock is mine and I’ll treat him however I please,” she says.

Eddie moves his hips to get more friction. She cups his chin and stuff her thumb in his mouth. He sucks, running his tongue over the tip, a promise of what’s to come later for when he’s between her thick thighs.

Fuck. He was a sneaky lover.

“Your cock is mine. Your come is mine. Understood?”

“Understood, Kitten,” he says, her thumb between his teeth now. As much as she was enjoying domming him for once, she couldn’t wait to feel his teeth nibble her clit. He was a triple threat when he teased her clit, with two fingers in her ass, and three fingers in her cunt. Maybe they could fuck raw later in her mom’s garden—

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard a pair of feet thundering up the stairs. She gasped hearing her little sister Erica call out of her.

“Fuck! What is she doing home?!” Eddie asked.

“How should I know? Mom said she had a sleepover.”

“Well,” they tensed hearing Erica’s voice right outside the bathroom door. “We we’re all at Rochelle’s house when her dad’s girlfriend came home with Rochelle’s mom and two other women he was seeing. It was better than when J.R got shot.”

“Erica! Get away from the door and give your sister some privacy,” Sue ordered.

They heard the pre teen shuffle off. “That was close,” she sighed against Eddie’s shoulder.

“I’m still close,” Eddie huffed.

“How fast can you—”

“Speed of lighting,” he grinned.

She moved her hands on his shaft.

A strong knock on the door made her jump.

“Hey honey!” Her mom called. “Your father was called in for emergency surgery at the hospital so it’s just us tonight. I got Domino’s and both Alien movies. Lucas should be home after practice.”

“Ok! Thanks mom!” She hollered.

“Don’t be in there all night wasting my water.”

“Ok I’m coming!”

“I’m not,” Eddie groaned. She slapped her hand over his mouth.

“Tell Eddie I got extra olives on the supreme just for him.”

Eddie licked her hand, the sudden action making her move. “Thanks Mrs.Sinclair!”

Listening to her mom go back downstairs, the two lovers stared at each other. The water had long since gone cold. Eddie leans forward as much as he can to kiss her pouty lips.

“Don’t be so sad Kitten. Now we have free food.”

i love zombie aus so much like-

What if like it’s the start of the whole Z thing and people are packing getting outta dodge. And Eddie comes to get Reader who doesn’t realize what’s going on? 🥺

yes let's get this party started tysm for ur request!!! zombie!au | eddie comes to get you at the start of the apocalypse ♡ fem!reader

You're lying on the floor in your bedroom when you hear wheels screeching against asphalt outside. It's a scorching hot day, too hot to want to move, and the floor feels much cooler than anywhere else. You can't bring yourself to get up and investigate, lazing over the wooden floor practically lackadaisical.

You wonder if it's your roommate coming home from her vacation, though why she'd be driving like a lunatic is anyone's guess.

"Always so dramatic," you murmur to yourself, distracted from the book you've held in hand. You let it fall flat to your chest with a huff.

Another screech, louder than the first. You raise your brows and gaze toward the open window as a door opens and promptly slams.

Then, with enough urgency to have you heart in your throat, Eddie starts to shout your name. None of his usual care, only your name on repeat and a hammering at the door downstairs. You live in a simple three bedroom home that's been converted into two apartments, so if he wants to see you he has to wait, or do as he's doing now — harass your downstairs neighbours. They must let him in, because by the time you've scrambled to the window he's not outside the door.

Your name up the stairs. His thundering footsteps.

You throw open your bedroom door and race down the hall to meet him.

"I'm coming, Eddie!" you call, and then add, "It's okay!" for good measure. He sounds freaked.

He hears your voice and stops shouting.

Your hands tremble as you turn the key the wrong way. His shouting has given you a horrible dose of anxiety, worried maybe someone's been hurt. It's the kind of urgency that comes with emergencies — you're expecting to open the door and have him drag you out to the hospital.

"Hey, baby, what's the matter?" you ask as you pull open the door.

Eddie doesn't even look at you. He pushes past you, the roughest he's ever treated you outside of play wrestling, and your hips bump the sideboard behind. Everything rattles.

"Come and help me," he calls.

He bursts into your room. You follow, chest pounding staccato under your hand. "Help you what? Eddie, what the fuck?"

"There's these-" He throws his gaze over his shoulder at you, brown eyes usually so soft sharpened by panic, by a need to move. "We have to get the fuck out of here."

You stare at him. "What happened, baby?"

Eddie gets wound up by everything. Little things sometimes blow really big, and he can't articulate what's bothering him so he just starts yelling.

"We have to go. We have to- I already got some shit in the van, but you need your clothes, and we need food."

"Food?"

That's what clues you in. That and Eddie's complete lack of respect for your wardrobe. He throws the door open and grabs all of your clothes. Party clothes, knit wear, stuff you haven't worn in years.

"What are you-"

"We'll take it all. You can get rid of what you don't want after."

"Tell me what's happening," you demand, foot tapping.

Eddie turns to you, takes you by the shoulders, and frowns. "You trust me. I know you trust me. Pack your things, things you can't live without. Pack them now." He finally cracks, sees the panic on his face mirrored on your own. "There are fucking monsters out there."

You want to laugh because it's an unconvincing concept. Monsters, like you're in a movie, like you're in one of his make-believe fantasy games..

"Eddie-"

"Pack your things."

Eddie almost dives under your bed to grab your backpack, forcing it into your hands. His aren't shaking like yours, but they're frenetic. He moves like he might grab your wrists and then leaves your bedroom entirely.

You take a step to follow him.

"I'm serious! Pack your shit! We have to go," he yells. The kitchen door creaks open. Your fridge unseals and there's a great scraping sound like all the shelves are being pulled out. This continues onto the cupboards; cereal shook like rain on wood, the metal clunk of heavy tin cans, the metallic clash of the cutlery drawer being pulled against its stopper.

You bite your lip hard in an attempt to force yourself back to reality, but there's no reality to go to. There can't be monsters. It's not something that would happen.

"This isn't a funny joke," you say angrily, too quiet for him to hear. You repeat yourself as you walk down the hall and into the kitchen, which he's all but trashed. "This isn't a funny joke. This is mean. I don't know if you had a bad fucking whitey or you've been reading too many of those weird books, but this isn't funny."

Eddie only turns to look at you where he'd been searching your kitchen cabinets when your voice cracks.

"I'm not joking."

He says it absolutely.

You let him lead you back into your bedroom. He takes the backpack from your hands and opens it wide, offering you the two sides so he can tip your underwear into the bag. Socks and panties fall all over the floor and he grabs them without a joke, or an oggling, or even a salacious, smarmy smirk.

"Reefer Rick calls me this morning. He says, Eds, you know that fucking rabies thing they had in Detroit? I told him I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about."

Eddie moves to your nightstand, grabs all your meds and keepsakes and stuffs them into the bag.

"He says okay, but you heard about martial law in Russia, right? I said don't be a fucking asshole, everyone has. Martial law because of the virus, the virus that was making people hostile? That shit is real. They had it in Russia, they had it in China, they have it here. Michigan, Illinois, the people are going fucking crazy and eating each other, baby."

He's moved now to your t-shirts. He doesn't bother putting them in the bag, just has them in a pile on the ground. He adds your trousers. He doesn't bother with your skirts.

"What else do you need?"

You stare at him.

"We have to leave, sweetheart," he says desperately. "If it happens in Ohio or Kentucky, we're fucked. We'll be trapped."

"If what happens?" you ask miserably.

"It's a sickness. Rick says it's a sickness, and he said they fucking killed some guy in Indianapolis who had it. I turn on the radio and-"

Somebody starts screaming in the apartment downstairs.

Eddie pales. You grow incredibly still.

"Carry as much as you can," he says. "If we can, we'll come back."

Eddie grabs the box of pilfered foods from the kitchen and you follow him down the stairs.

Whoever's screaming won't stop. It's a chilling sound. Loud, repetitive screams. Eddie holds his finger over his lips and he looks so domineering you can't help it, you start crying then and there. He inclines his head to the door, listening for movement, and when there isn't any he walks straight past the apartment door and to the main building door.

He opens it and gestures quickly for you to leave. You walk fast out of the door and down the single step. Eddie's van is still running on the curb.

You open the door and climb in, slamming your head against the roof in your hurry. Eddie shoves the box of food at your feet and runs around the hood. He gets in, he closes the door, and he waits.

You lock your door. You lean over Eddie to lock his and can't make yourself sit back down.

He takes your face into his hand. He isn't gentle, but he's far from cruel.

Eddie scrubs away your tears with his thumb.

"Do you think we should go see what's..." you begin to ask.

He looks like he wants to say no. It's shocking. It hurts, thinking that Eddie wouldn't go make sure someone's okay. But you find yourself too scared to do it yourself, and you realise he's afraid. You're both petrified.

"We have to," you whisper.

"I have to keep you safe." He speaks an inch from your face.

"She's not... I mean. She's not dangerous. She's scared. What if it was me?"

"But it's not you."

"If," you say slowly, brain numb with overstimulation, "it were me. And somebody could help me. Wouldn't you want them to?"

You've no clue what's wrong or why she's screaming. These monsters he's talking about, she probably just saw them on TV.

Eddie nods. "You stay here."

"Idiot," he chastises, taking your hand.

You let him get out of the car and wait a few seconds before you follow. He glares at you and stops. You both stand there for a moment, willing one another to do what the other wants.

"I'm not gonna let you go alone."

You look down at your joined hands and squeeze his fingers. You take a very deep breath.

-

requests are open if you want more of this au! ♡

heheh i figured it out + so much more and already started the 'how things are in that world part 1 :' chapter 🤫🤫🤫

+ i loveeeee crossovers and modern aus so i'm gonna be reaalllll extra with it !

i'm talking : groupchat names + who's in them , social media accounts , everybody's relationships with everybody, etc. - ooooh prepare to be so tired of me !! 🤭🤭

HELPPP for my euphoria x stranger things au should i make steve graduated and a year older than the older hawkins teens like canon or seniors with them 😪😪😪

AND if he's graduated, should i have it as he's still working at family video or in college with mckay and just working part-time with robin🤫